I have researched the sales figures of similar genres, to what I want my magazine to be, that are already established in the market. In my research I have found that overall sales figures for magazines such as NME and kerrang are down from last year. This suggest that these magazines are not providing the reader the content which they desire. There is therefore a gap in the market which i may be able to expose if my research is good enough. Although it may be hard to gain an audience in this market as The Fly and Classic Rock's sales figures are up.

Conventions of a magazine genre

All magazines must follow the same rule what ever their genre is. These rules are, image and logo. This says that the header must fit the content and the target audience, for example for a magazine targeted at males the title must be big and bold with straight lines, this will appeal to the target audience more then a more softer and smaller header. Also the name of the magazine must also do this in order to grab the right target audiences attention. The colour scheme is very important too in creating a style to which the target audience appeals to, for example pink and purples for girls magazines. 

 Mode of address. This is where the text creates a relationship with the audience, the most common MOD in magazines is direct address, this is created when the person on the front cover looks straight out of the magazine which invites the reader in. Indirect is when the person is looking away, it is not convention, but has been used on magazine covers. MOD can also refer to the writing of a magazine and how it addresses the reader, usually in a friendly non formal way through things such as the font of the writing. 

 Stars and celebrities. Magazines usually include stars and celebrities on their covers in order to increase sales and therefore profits. famous musicians are conventionally included on magazine covers to sell the magazine.

 The front cover of the magazine is its main advertisement, this is because it represents the whole of the magazine. It should be bright, interesting and eye-catching to entice the reader to want to buy the magazine and buy it. The colours should represent the target audience, but also in a music magazine it should represent the genre of music. e.g black for a rock magazine. There usually is different fonts on the cover to make it visually interesting and eye-catching. This is also apparent through out the magazine.

 On the cover also the logo and header are placed at the top of the cover to make it easily recognisable to the target audience. The leading caption usually dominates the page which shows the reader that this is the main article in the magazine and anchors the cover story. Also seen on the cover in smaller writing is the subheadings of other items featured in the magazine, along with a strapline usually on the top or bottom on the page which are used to highlight others stars or stories in the magazine. Barcodes and a date are placed upon the cover usually along with a web address for the magazine.

Content pages, also like the cover, should be bright and colourful, images dominate the txt in order for grazing with direct address on all images. Also the title/header should appear on every page and a full list of the contents of the entire magazine. 

The majority of the money that makes the magazine profitable comes from advertising revenue, therefore the magazine has to appeal to its audience and sell well in order to make revenue. If the magazine does sell well it can then charge highly for advertisement space and encourage companies to advertise within their magazine.

Contents page analysis

For my contents page the heading along with other titles e.g page number, will be brightly coloured and bold, in order to grab the readers attention and encourage them to read on. I have made the images larger then the text part of the contents page to allow readers to graze  and decide whether to buy the magazine. Also the title isn't directly targeted at any specific genre and so appeals to everyone. I have placed the header saying 'Contents' at the top of the page so the reader knows what they are reading, along with a list of the contents. 

Feedback 24.11.09

Joe,

Where's the mock up of your contents page? This must be scanned and uploaded in order to complete this section. You also need to outline your initial ideas about your product. Get started on your research. Outline the conventions of magazines in general and then upload and analyse a front pg, contents and dble pg feature from a genre mag similar to your intended product. Also conduct some primary research - audince questionnaire and collate your findings and summarise. Say how your findings will inform your design ideas. See checklist.

Mrs A

Prelim task

I have managed to make my magazine cover, for the prelim task, look like an authentic cover by using the conventions of a magazine genre. I have done this through relating everything to my target audience, which is college students. I have done this by naming the magazine after the college where it would be sold, also I used students for my image on the cover. The colour of the cover also will help people associate people with the fact that this magazine is about St Mary's as it uses the same blue as the college. Also with the colours I have made the background a bright blue and the writing bright white. This entices the reader and invites them to come and look at it. To gain interest in the magazine i used a direct address image, which invites readers in as the image is making eye contact with the reader. I have used a strapline to advertise a competition inside of the magazine which may grab the readers attention and want to find out what it is. To make the cover look more authentic i placed a barcode, price and date just like real magazines have.

 The things which i would now change if i could do it again are, that i would have placed the college logo in the space in the top right hand corner of the cover, in order to create a more authentic look. I would possibly also add more text on the front cover of what is inside of the magazine, or talk in more detail about the things i have mentioned, to grab the interest of the reader further.

Initial ideas

I have chosen to create a music magazine for my coursework. The genre of music which i have decided to cover is an indie/rock themed magazine, my target audience for my magazine is people between the ages of 16-24 who are likely to be students. This is because this genre of music is most popular in this age group, also the pricing of the magazine will be low and so students, especially at university and college, will be attracted to this magazine as they can afford to buy it. The pricing also will be my unique selling point as i will attempt to gain the same amount of content as other magazines on the market, but for a lower price. Similar products on the market are magazines such as, 'NME.'